Archaon
Archaon the Everchosen is the supreme champion of the Chaos Gods and a major villain from the Warhammer tabletop war game. He serves as the protagonist villain of his own books, as the main antagonist in Storm of Chaos and one of the antagonists in The End Times. History Abandoning Sigmar According to rumor, Archaon was once a Templar of Sigmar and zealously devoted to battling the forces of Chaos. But then he read ancient manuscripts written by Necrodomo the Insane, which told about the nature of Chaos and took a blasphemous stand against the Sigmar religion. What particularly caught his attention was the Prophecy of Fate the manuscript spoke of. Enraged by what he’d read, he burned the temple and the manuscripts, calling the gods liars and turning against Sigmar forever, before he hunted down and slew his entire family. Now calling himself Archaon, he headed into the Chaos Wastes, offering himself to the Chaos Gods as their tool of destruction. The gods used their dark powers to increase Archaon’s lifespan, so he spent a century searching for the six treasures of chaos while taking control of the northern tribes. The "End Times" series of books, however, tell a different story. There is little doubt to the credibility of his being a former Templar of Sigmar, but his story is written differently; a scant few years after the first Great War against Chaos (in the year 2390, as reckoned by the Imperial Calendar), the man who would become Archaon was born in the Imperial province of Nordland. However, he was not a true-blooded Imperial- "it was foretold in the Liber Caelistior, the dread Book of Divination penned by Necromodo the Insane, that North and South would meet in the Everchosen's blood". This was true, for Archaon was the spawn of rape, courtesy of a champion from the Varg tribe of the Warriors of Chaos forcing himself upon a fleeing innocent from the village of Hargendorf. His step-father loathed the child and, following his mother's death, abandoned the baby on the steps of the temple of the Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb. A local Sigmarite priest raised him in his parents' stead and, for a time, Diederick Kastner- as he was known then -knew some form of happiness. Alas, his true origin and his vile destiny eventually became known to him. Despair captured him and, in that moment, he had one hope to save his soul- he would undertake a pilgrimage to the Temple of Sigmar, in the Empire's capital city of Atldorf and pray for his salvation. Journeying many miles, with his horse being his only friend on this long journey, Diederick reached the temple. Kneeling in piety towards the Golden Statue of Sigmar, he begged for a sign, something to help keep the darkness from taking his soul. The statue remained silent as stone and, in that moment, Diederick knew he was damned for eternity. Cursing the gods of the south (and renouncing his once boundless faith in them) -but also refusing to embrace the Dark Gods that his true father had followed -the once-pure man that had been Diederick Kastner accepted that his duty was to end the world (if only to repay the Fates for the cruel joke they had played on him). Thus did Diederick Kastner die... and so, also, did Archaon take his place. The Mark of Chaos The first treasure of Chaos that Archaon sought out was the Mark of Chaos, which marked the bearer as the chosen warrior of all the Chaos Gods. Archaon went to get this one from the Altar of Darkness in Naggaroth along with a small band of Chaos warriors called the Swords of Chaos. They battled their way to a huge citadel and upon entering, found it so dark that when one tried to light a torch, it was snuffed out. Unafraid, Archaon marched alone into the darkness, slaughtering hundreds of the misshapen monsters that had infested the citadel. He reached the altar for the Chaos Gods, offering up the hearts of all the creatures he’d slain. Archaon then emerged, the Mark of Chaos eternally burning on his forehead. The Armour of Morkar The second treasure was the Armour of Morkar, an extremely strong set of dark armor that was worn by the first Everchosen, who’d been killed by Sigmar. Leaving Naggaroth aboard a stolen ship of black metal that was pulled by a sea drake, Archaon took command of a seafaring warrior band. Sailing to a mysterious land, home to strange half-humans that had felt neither the sun nor moon, Archaon battled them and reduced their cities to nothing in 6 days. He delved deep into their necropolis where he found the Tomb of Morkar and inside, the armor. But as Archaon reached out to claim it, Morkar’s spirit animated the armor, attacking him and unleashing a rain of blows. However Archaon spoke a curse in the tongue of the Unberogen tribe, stopping the assault for a moment. This gave him the chance to strike the armor down, driving out Morkar’s spirit and letting Archaon claim it. The Eye of Sheerian The third treasure was the Eye of Sheerian, which was named for the Sorcerer of Tzeentch who found it. When mounted in the Crown of Domination, it granted the possessor prophetic and omniscient powers. Fresh from gaining the armor of Morkar, Archaon went after the Eye of Sheerian, which was in the treasure horde of a Chaos Dragon called Flamefang. Since the dragon held the Eye dearer than any of its other treasures, Archaon had to make his request for the Eye by driving his ax into Flamefang’s head. The two battled for ages with Flamefang breathing fire on Archaon and even swallowing him at one point, but the Armour of Morkar kept him safe. Slicing his way out of the dragon’s throat with great ferocity, Archaon left Flamefang’s throat in tatters and the dragon died, allowing Archaon to take the Eye of Sheerian from his chest. Dorghar, the Steed of Apocalypse The fourth treasure was Dorghar, Steed of the Apocalypse, a huge demonic horse. Archaon battled his way through the Daemons guarding the palace of the great Agrammon, before sneaking inside, using a creature that was a hybrid of man, mammoth, and insect. Within Archaon noticed every form of creature imaginable, along with some that could not be imagined. He snuck into Agrammon’s stables, tracking Dorghar via the smell of sulfur that it emitted. Despite Dorghar bursting into flame and changing shape, Archaon broke it and rode it out of the Realm of Chaos. Many armies pursued him, but with the Steed of Apocalypse carrying him, Archaon outran them all until they dropped dead of exhaustion. The Slayer of Kings The fifth treasure was the Slayer of Kings, a powerful sword with the soul of an enraged demon called U’zhul trapped inside it. Archaon heard it rested upon the Chimera Plateau and headed there after stealing Dorghar. The warriors fighting there saw his determination and the great destiny that awaited him and quickly flocked to his side. After slaying the Chimeras guarding the higher plateaus, Archaon and three companions headed for the top. Upon reaching the top, Archaon was able to look out over the entire world and swear that all of it would be his. But suddenly the mountain behind him turned over as if it were a sleeping creature and Archaon realized it was actually Krakanrok the Black, father of the Dragon Ogres. Knowing that even he didn’t have the power to defeat such a gigantic monster, Archaon and his companions snuck past. However Krakanrok was holding the Slayer of Kings to its chest and one of Archaon’s companions, Prince Ograx the Great was able to lift one of the monster’s huge claws. This allowed Archaon to claim the sword but the spirit of U’zhul began to shriek, causing Krakanrok to start waking. Thinking fast, Archaon slew Ograx, quenching the Slayer of King’s thirst for royal blood and letting him sheath it, and returned to his cheering followers. The Crown of Domination The last treasure was the Crown of Domination, which was a symbol of absolute control over the forces of Chaos. However this one eluded Archaon for decades until finally the demon, Be’lakor, who was the only one who could perform the coronation to Everchosen, told him of its location. It was in the First Shrine to Chaos at the icy tip of the Worlds Edge Mountains. Be’lakor led Archaon up the mountain on Dorghar and after a day and half, he stood before the enormous gates of the shrine. Within, he faced a huge maze, filled with Daemons and monsters and where he faced challenges from the Chaos Gods themselves. Nurgle sent deadly plagues against Archaon, but his sheer willpower let him shrug them off. Tzeentch created a labyrinth of crystal, but Archaon blindfolded himself with his instincts alone allowing him to navigate it. Slaanesh sent temptation after temptation against Archaon, but none moved him from his path until he finally reached the inner gates of the Shrine. He passed through the inner gates, where he found himself on a staircase surrounded by hellfire, burning away his skin and hair. A Bloodthirster of Khorne burst forth from the flames and Archaon battled the Greater Daemon. Despite the daemon’s strength, the power of the Slayer of Kings allowed Archaon to take the Bloodthirster’s weapons and strangle it with its own whip. The hellfire dissipated, leaving Archaon standing alone on a shrine with a throne standing on the back. Upon the throne sat a withered corpse with the Crown of Domination upon its skull. Archaon took the crown, causing his wounds to heal and his body to course with power as he held it to the sky. With all the treasures of Chaos in his possession, Be’lakor performed the coronation, making Archaon the Everchosen and Lord of the End Times. Storm of Chaos With a huge army of Chaos warriors behind him, Archaon marched into the Empire from the north, while his herald, Crom the Conqueror, marched over the Worlds Edge Mountains, attacking from the east. Knowing that he would lose if Man, Dwarf, and Elf stood against him, Archaon had only one choice, to strike hard and fast at the Old World. The Lord of the End Times planned to invade Middenheim, capital city of Middenland, then enter the Temple of Ulric and corrupt the Eternal Flame within. By using his essence to corrupt the flame, it would be extinguished and signal the End Times. Archaon’s campaign went well and he even managed to fell Volkmar the Grim with one strike from the Slayer of Kings. He laid waste to three Imperial provinces before entering a climactic battle with the Empire’s forces. Archaon personally took on Valten, Exalted of Sigmar in one-on-one combat, eventually striking him what seemed to be a mortal blow. Luthor Huss managed to strike Archaon on the head, but the Lord of the End Times knocked him away. However he was attacked out of nowhere by Grimgor Ironhide, who smashed his shield and struck him in the face. But though he held his blade as if to finish Archaon, the orc instead just declared “Grimgor iz da best!” and left the field. His campaign finished, Archaon apparently retreated back into the Chaos Wastes, leaving the Empire a mess. The end times The time-line "Storm of Chaos" has been recently replaced by the End Times,In which it goes back to the moment when Archaon is crowned by the jealous and megalomaniac daemon prince Be'Lakor. After getting crowned, Archaon begins to gather all the north tribes, chaos workshippers, enemy races of the Empire and other forces of the Warp to create the greater army in history. Also, the chaos storms begins to intensify, summoning demons and other vile creatures of the Warp. Naggaroth, the citadel of the dark elves, and Kislev, an important human country next to the Chaos Desert, are the first to fall against the horde of daemons and barbarians of Archaon. After staying out of business in a short time,a chaos giant army leaded by Crom the Conqueror, a loyal subordinate of Archaon, begins a battle for Ostermark against the Emperor Karl Franz and a vampire apparently redeemed named Vlad Von Carstein, but the battle was not honorable, Harkon, another vampire, gets seduced by the dark power of chaos and (apparently) kills the beloved emperor Karl Franz, with the human army horrified and hopeless, Ostermark is another city that belongs to Archaon and the Chaos Gods. Later, Ku'gath, father of the plague, delivers three pitchers of Nurgle to Archaon, which he delivers it too to the three champions of Nurgle, the Glottkin brothers. They shared the putrid and great power of the pitchers with Gutrot Spume and Orghotts Daemonspew, a minor champions of Nurgle, and lead they armies to the South, the home of the Empire and his citizens, mages and knights. The first citadel to feel the "devotion"of the Glottkin's armies was Marienburg, the coastal citadel. The Glottkin annihilated the city and reduced it to ashes, making useless the armies of the Empire, now joyless for the loss of his Emperor. The Worm Lords (the Glottkin) landes to Nordland and Erengrand, but highly followed by the Orcs. They are in the way of Talahbeim (which is in the the heart of the Empire territory), despite the efforts of his citizens, there is no hope for them; Talahbeim is destroyed but the Worm Lords Army have not the characteristic of being butchers, the survivors of the town fled to Atrolf, the capital of the Empire. Karl Franz,which he surprisingly survived of the attack of Harkon, stays now in Atrolf, ready to defend his city to death if it's necessary. The Glottkin and Karl Franz fight among his armies, but Karl is only one men,and The Glottkin are three, the three greatest Nurgle champions. After a long battle, Karl Franz loses his battle, and the Glottkin want to keep him alive to see the city he defended ruined. When all hope seems lost, Vlad and the King of Bretonia, Louen Leoncoeur, join the battle, and Karl Franz, who is almost dead, receives divine powers for Sigmar, the almighty god of the Human Empire. With all these forces combined, the Glottkin are defeated (not dead) and their armies retreat. The battle is won, but Atrolf is now destroyed. In the end, Archaon meets with Kairos Fateweaver (a powerful daemon of wisdom, who can see the future) and he says to him that all goes just as he wanted, he uses the Glottkin just to enfeeble the Empire, then he would finish it with a Khorne army, but Kairos told him that he should be afraid of something more than humans. Age of Sigmar In the new world created by the God-King Sigmar after the destruction of the old one in The End Times, Archaon is revived by the Chaos Gods to be their everchosen champion once again. Now he has a new goal, destroy the new world to recreate it without gods and kill the last gods out there. By the time that the Age of Sigmar (for which the game is named) has reached its inception, he is already dangerously close to his goal. Seven of the Eight Mortal Realms already lie under his control (with the last realm, Azyr- the Realm of Heavens -remaining under Sigmar's domain) and the Allpoints- formerly the Eightpoints (a sort of highway that linked all Eight Realms together) is under his control, serving as his personal fortress. That being said, he hasn't been seen in the Allpoints for some time (though offerings have been left at his throne, which is afforded the same reverence as he is). His exact location remains unclear, though the coming of the Stormcast Eternals should definitely be cause for him to mobilize all his forces against Sigmar's legions. Despite the presence of the Stormcast Eternals (and their potentially endless numbers), Archaon is largely unfazed by his enemy's latest work- as the decimation of all members of the Hammers of Sigmar Stormhost that were sent to face him should make clear. He did have aid in this fight, having turned Kiathanus- a Lord of Change -into a bracelet that allows him to view events that have not yet happened (this apparently is serving as a new version of the Eye of Sheerian, as the original was shattered in the fight over what remained of the world-that-was). Personality Archaon is a chaos champion very unusual. He is one of the few (if not the only) who seek the will of the Chaos Gods for extend the Realm of Chaos, and not for his own profit, and maybe for that the Chaos Gods choose him as their herald. The cause of his loyalty to the Dark Gods comes of his days as a priest-warrior of Sigmar, which in this days he committed the "error" of read The Divine Book of Fate. It is still unknown what he read,but that change him forever. Making him blame and hate his own gods,burning his home and kill his own family for erase his history and true name. Archaon is also cunning,clever and very merciless,even with his own men, his extreme punishments makes him crossing sometimes the moral event horizon, for instance: Melekh, a powerful chaos champion of Tzeentch and his son, Cyspeth, were devoted heralds of Archaon until the day he fail to conquer the Bohsenfel Castel. For this failure and for teaching the young Cyspeth what happen if someone disappoints him, Archaon ordered to his personal guard to slay five hundred men of the army of Melekh, for later decapitate Melekh himself, and making his own son watching it. Powers and Abilities Archaon is a powerful warrior and general, as well as skilled in the ways of Chaos. The six treasures that he collected to become the Everchosen grant him many dark abilities. The Mark of Chaos grants Archaon the benefits of all the other marks, but on an even more powerful scale. The Armour of Morkar makes him invulnerable to all but the strongest of attacks and the Eye of Sheerian grants him prophetic powers, letting him avoid enemy attacks. Archaon usually rides Dorghar into battle, a powerful demonic horse, and wields the Slayer of Kings, an incredibly powerful sword that has the soul of the enraged and insane demon, U’zhul, within. Archaon can unleash U'zhul's power to become a lethal force, but sometimes the blade will seek to attack the Lord of the End Times' allies and even Archaon himself and U'zhul cannot be re-restrained until the end of the battle. The final treasure, the Crown of Domination, strengthens Archaon’s allies while striking fear into his enemies. 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